Banijay Kids & Family has signed on to manage worldwide distribution and licensing for preschool series Topo Gigio, based on an Italian kids IP that has been in the market for more than six decades.

Banijay will work closely with master toy partner Giochi Preziosi and Ladybug Entertainment, which is orchestrating the brand’s commercial expansion in Italy.

Milan’s Movimenti Production rebooted the classic brand with its owner (also Topo Gigio) as a 2D-animated preschool series in 2020. It’s currently airing in Italy on RaiPlay and Rai Yoyo, where its launch ratings were 60% higher than average, positioning it as one of the channel’s most-watched programs, according to a press release.  

Topo Gigio joined the Banijay portfolio when the company acquired Movimenti this year. Its new owner is planning an “ambitious brand growth strategy for the next year and through 2024,” said Banijay Kids & Family CEO Benoît Di Sabatino in the same release.

The evergreen IP has been refreshed in a wide variety of formats since its launch in the late ’50s, including big-screen feature films The Magic World of Topo Gigio (1965) and Topo Gigio and the Missile War (1967).